Data security is the safeguarding of physical and digital data against unauthorized access or destruction. It is a requirement of every business, since it ensures that personal information is accessible to authorized users, and remains confidential, secure and untouched. It also assists in preventing the loss of critical information due to a cyberattack or a data breach. A good data security program consists of a variety of tools that ensure these six fundamental best practices:

Authorization and authentication are essential to any data security plan. When your data is in transit or at rest, you need to verify that only authorized users have access by using credentials, such as passwords or encryption keys, or other methods of authentication, like multi-factor identification (MFA) in which the user has to provide more than one method of proof.

The company should be able to inventory the data check here it uses and recognize when sensitive data is in a particular state, such as “at rest”, “in transit” or “in use”.

It can be a challenge for businesses to keep the records of sensitive data as the amount of data collected increases. This is why it’s vital to apply the principle of least privilege which stipulates that users should be given only the data they require to perform their job. By limiting permissions down to the minimum, you will improve your overall security posture and reduce storage and bandwidth costs. Finally, your data usage policy should specify how data is used, and set the consequences for any violations.